Nigeria

=== Government ===
[[File:Coat of arms of Nigeria.svg|thumb|[[Coat of arms of Nigeria]] in current use]]
Nigeria is a [[federal republic]] modelled after the [[United States]],<ref>Charles Mwalimu. ''The Nigerian Legal System: Public Law''. Peter Lang. 2005. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QWrGlYsCwPIC&pg=PA6 p. 6].</ref> with 36 states and capital Abuja as an independent unit. The executive power is exercised by the [[President of Nigeria|President]]. The president is both [[head of state]] and [[Head of government|head of the federal government]]; the president is [[Direct election|elected by popular vote]] to a maximum of two four-year terms.<ref name="factbook3">{{cite web|title=Nigeria|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nigeria/|work=[[The World Factbook]]|date=14 February 2022|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] (United States)}}</ref> [[State governors in nigeria|State governors]], like the president, are elected for four years and may serve a maximum of two terms. The president's power is checked by a [[Senate of Nigeria|Senate]] and a [[House of Representatives (Nigeria)|House of Representatives]], which are combined in a [[Bicameralism|bicameral body]] called the [[National Assembly (Nigeria)|National Assembly]]. The Senate is a 109-seat body with three members from each state and one from the capital region of Abuja; members are elected by popular vote to four-year terms. The House contains 360 seats, with the number of seats per state determined by population.<ref name="factbook3" />

The Nigerian president is elected in a modified two-round system. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive a relative majority of the votes and more than 25% of the votes in at least 24 of the 36 states.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-04 |title=Patrick Obahiagbon: Labour Party won't get 25% of votes in 24 states |url=https://www.thecable.ng/patrick-obahiagbon-labour-party-wont-get-25-of-votes-in-24-states |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=TheCable |language=en-US}}</ref> If no candidate reaches this hurdle, a second round of voting takes place between the leading candidate and the next candidate who received the majority of votes in the highest number of states. By convention, presidential candidates take a running mate (candidate for the vice-presidency) who is both ethnically and religiously the opposite of themselves. There is no law prescribing this, yet all presidential candidates since the existence of the Fourth Republic until 2023 adhered to this rule.

However, this principle of religious and ethnic diversity in leadership was ignored in the 2023 General Elections, where the candidate for the [[All Progressives Congress]], [[Bola Tinubu|Bola Ahmed Tinubu]], a Muslim, selected another Muslim, [[Kashim Shettima|Senator Kashim Shettima]], as running mate.